Dumbass.
Logan
There’s my girl.
It’s still a little off-putting to just let myself into the Triple Crown. This isn’t my home. Just the place I happen to be sleeping, which feels as odd as it sounds. Especially when Waverly looks up from the thick textbook she seems to be highlighting to glare—full-on glare—at me.“Thought maybe you’d ditched Logan and Maggie already.”
“I—”
“Stop it, Waves,” Logan growls before I can even defend myself as he chases a giggling Maggie into the room. She toddles slowly on chubby legs, moving as quickly as she can. “We’re still working out the kinks, and Olive’s office is an hour away. Her job isn’t exactly a nine to five.”
A little shocked, I turn to face him, ready to tell him I can defend myself, thank you very much, but end up bracing as Maggie slams into my legs before she uses them as a shield to hide from her daddy. She slides behind my knees, then peeks around my skirt.
“Oh no,” Logan calls out dramatically. “Where did Maggie go? I lost her.”
I really hate how much I like this side of him.
“Ladybug...” He winks at me and smiles such a beautifully real smile that his dimple pops ridiculously deep in his cheek, and damn it, I may melt a little bit.
“I don’t know where she went,” I play along, then turn my back to him and drop to a squat in front of Maggie, holding my finger in front of my lips. “Shh... sweet girl. Do you want to hide?”
Her blue eyes light up as she throws her arms in the air. “Up. Up.”
Oh. Umm . . . Okay.
I drop my bag to the floor and pick Maggie up awkwardly at first. Guess it’s been a hot minute since I’ve held a one-year-old. No worries though. Any nervousness vanishes when this little girl throws her arms around my neck, giggling, and I kick off my heels, holding her close. “Let’s go before he gets us.”
We take off, not quickly, but if you judged me based on Maggie’s peals of laughter, you’d think I just ran faster than Usain Bolt. I purposefully dart into the kitchen and skirt around Pops, who holds the door open when he sees me running from Logan. Not Jasper though. He stops in front of me, halting me in my tracks. Douche.
“You trying to steal something that’s not yours, St. James?” He crosses his thick arms over his chest and glares.
Yup. Giant douche.
The door opening and closing behind us catches my attention as words I may never recover from carry on the wind. “There’s my girls.”
No. I will not allow myself to melt over those words.
“Dadda. Dadda. Dadda,” Maggie chants as Jasper’s glare grows before I can even process why my damn heart just skipped a beat.
“Don’t get used to it, St. James. You don’t belong here,” the growly ass makes sure I hear without saying the words loud enough for Logan to catch.
“Do I scare you, Langley?” I manage to ask before Logan moves next to us, and my newest little fair-weather fan throws herself at her daddy.
Jasper’s eyes dart between Logan and me for one beat. “Yes.”
“What?” Logan asks, not having heard either side of our conversation.
“Nothing, brother,” Jasper grumbles as he strides away, leaving Logan and me to ourselves with Maggie already kicking her feet to be put down.
“What’s up his ass?” Logan asks, like I have a clue.
“Don’t ask me. I just got home,” I tell him, hating that I just called it home. This is not my home, I remind myself as I watch Rafe head toward the beautiful stable. “How many acres do you have here?”
“Three thousand,” Logan tells me as he places Maggie on her feet and takes her hand in his, allowing her to lead him in the opposite direction of Rafe.
“Mooo...” Maggie draws out, then repeats herself again, this time with some serious enthusiasm. “Mooo!”
He squats down in front of the little girl, his face so content to be right there in the moment with his daughter, I think I just happy-sighed like a heroine in a freaking romance book. Something I don’t do. This could be a problem. Logan Adler isnot dreamy. He’s not ridiculously handsome. And he’s certainly not someone I’d like to climb like a giant redwood tree.
